AXA-RF2016_44 new projects / 2

ENVIRONMENTAL
RISKS
LIFE
RISKS
SOCIO-ECONOMIC
RISKS
NEW RESEARCH PROGRAMS
AXA Research Fund 2015 Activity Report

ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
AXA Joint Research Initiative
3 years - €229 000
A countrywide Probabilistic Flood
Forecasting System
Citizenship: French
IRSTEA
Flooding is a chronic natural hazard with a
very large impact worldwide, claiming
many lives and causing multi-billion dollar
losses each year. Dr. Andréassian aims to
develop a countrywide flood forecasting
system, robust enough to be replicated in
other countries. Ultimately, his approach
should allow early warning by providing
simulated flood footprints, heights and
flows.
Dr.
VAZKEN
ANDRÉASSIAN
Sand and Dust Storms are a serious threat
for life, health, property, environment and
economy, particularly in emerging
countries. Dr Pérez García-Pando’s
multidisciplinary program aims to better
understand, assess and predict the adverse
effects of Sand and Dust Storms, ultimately
leading to cutting-edge solutions and
adaptation measures to reduce their
impacts and costs.
AXA Chair
15 years - €1 500 000
Sand and Dust Storms
Citizenship: Spanish
Barcelona Supercomputing Center
Prof.
CARLOS PÉREZ
GARCÍA PANDO

ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
Post-Doctoral Fellowships
As climate change causes Arctic sea ice to
melt, new commercial opportunities are
appearing—but so are more intense storms.
Dr. Jonathan Day aims to improve decision-
making about the Arctic by revealing what
drives such storms and enabling their
prediction for the coming decade. This
short timescale is unique and extremely
relevant for insurers, governments and
indigenous communities needing to assess
the evolving hazard of Arctic storms.
A Storm is Brewing on the Arctic Frontier
Citizenship: UK
University of Reading (UK)
Dr.
JONATHAN
DAY
The rains of the Asian summer monsoon are
important for people and ecosystems,
making accurate forecasts essential, too.
Climate models struggle with this, possibly
because they neglect the impact of
aerosol pollution. Dr. Riccardo Biondi studies
the effect of this air pollutant on monsoon
dynamics and whether it can be
predicted. If so, this important parameter
could help improve forecasts and the
development of early warning systems for
flood or drought.
For Better Monsoon Forecasts,
Look to Air Pollution
Citizenship: Italian
Institute for Atmospheric Science
and Climate (Italy)
Dr.
RICCARDO
BIONDI
The tundra shelters relatively few species, but their
interactions are complex and climate change
may affect their balance. The activity of
herbivores influences tundra plant communities.
Combined with extreme weather, this can intensify
soil erosion problems. Dr. Isabel Barrio studies the
impact of herbivores—sheep, geese, even
insects!—on the tundra. Her results will be relevant
to similar ecosystems, to regions facing livestock-
related soil degradation, and to land restoration
projects, worldwide.
Dr.
ISABEL
BARRIO
From Sheep to Insects, Herbivores’
Impact on Tundra Soil and Plants
University of Iceland (Iceland)

ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
Pollutants entering the food chain can
become highly concentrated in top
predators, including fish we eat. Dr. Lars-Eric
Heimbürger studies toxic methylmercury in
the Arctic Ocean: its original sources, how it
forms, and how climate change might
affect this process. The first to investigate
mercury species in the water, he will map
the presence of this dangerous pollutant, at
different depths and times, helping
safeguard our present and future fisheries.
Mercury’s Mysteries in the Arctic
Ocean
Citizenship: German
University of Aix-Marseille (France)
Dr.
LARS-ERIC
HEIMBÜRGER
The rich ecosystems of coral reefs risk
disappearing under climate change, unless
the coral can adapt to the higher ocean
temperatures predicted. Dr. Emily Howells is
researching this potential, to see if an initial
experience of heat stress can leave adult
corals more tolerant in the future. If so,
coral nurseries could raise more adaptable
populations for the restoration of damaged
reefs and the thousands of species they
support.
Turning Up the Heat on Coral for
Better Adaptation to Climate Change
Citizenship: Australian
New York University (UAE)
Dr.
EMILY
HOWELLS
Despite holding 1,000 times more heat than
the atmosphere, oceans’ feedback into
the climate is a new topic in research. Dr.
Aurélie Duchez identified a slowdown of
circulation in the North Atlantic preceding
recent, extremely cold European winters.
She established anomalously cold ocean
temperatures as a precursor to severe heat
waves in central Europe. Investigating the
mechanisms linking oceanic conditions to
severe weather events, she aims to better
predict and prepare for them.
Dr.
AURÉLIE
DUCHEZ
Is the Ocean to Blame for Extreme
Heat Waves?
Citizenship: French
National Oceanography Centre (UK)

ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
At ground level, atmospheric ozone is
harmful to plants’ growth and physiological
processes. These negative effects
compromise their capacity to lock up
carbon in plant structures and the soil,
preventing it from entering the atmosphere
as the climate gas carbon dioxide. Dr.
Divya Pandey is creating the first model to
assess the risk posed by ozone to carbon
capture by plants—an important service
mitigating the effects of climate change.
Dr.
DIVYA
PANDEY
Plants Capture Carbon, but Will Ozone
Get in the Way?
Citizenship: Indian
University of York (UK)
Warmer waters circulating have destabilized a
section of the West Antarctic. Could this cause the
entire region’s ice sheet to collapse? The potential
sea-level rise from ice discharged into the oceans
would overwhelm many of the world’s coastal
regions. Using computer modeling of ice
dynamics, Dr. Matthias Mengel aims to provide the
necessary data for climate policies to minimize the
increase and to help the world’s growing coastal
populations to adapt.
Dr.
MATTHIAS
MENGEL
Ice Sheet Instability: Is the Whole West
Antarctic at Risk?
Citizenship: German
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact
Research (Germany)
Human activities like major construction
and intensive farming influence soil erosion,
with consequences for the food supply and
climate change. Soil carbon may be
transferred to lake sediments, or escape
into the atmosphere—a fact neglected by
most carbon cycle models. Dr. Jean-
Philippe Jenny will integrate lake sediment
data for the last century with ecosystem
modeling to predict future soil erosion
dynamics and help better assess the
carbon cycle on multiple scales.
Dr.
JEAN-
PHILIPPE
JENNY
From Soil Erosion’s Past Come Clues to Its
Future Impact on Climate Change
Citizenship: French
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
(Germany)

ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
During a fire, tiny particles and trace gases
are released in the smoke, interacting and
even producing secondary particles. Dr.
Vakkari will combine ground-based
measurements with satellite data to
improve air quality predictions for these
aerosols and understand their impact on
global climate. The balance among them
may determine if their overall effect is of
heating or cooling—an important question
as the risk of drought-induced fire increases.
Tiny Particles from Fire Have Big Climate
Impact
Citizenship: Finnish
Finnish Meteorological Institute (Finland)
Dr.
VILLE
VAKKARI
Could a Climate Change/Earthquake
Link Mean Unexpected Tsunamis?
Citizenship: German
Uppsala University (Sweden)
Climate change could lead to powerful
earthquakes in unexpected places. As ice sheets
melt, reducing the load on the surface below, the
changing stresses in Earth’s crust can activate
formerly quiet seismic faults. In Greenland, Dr.
Rebekka Steffen is developing the first computer
model capable of mapping these forces. If any
oceanic faults appear unstable, she will assess the
risk of tsunamis and the consequences for Europe
and North America’s coasts.
Dr.
REBEKKA
STEFFEN

LIFE RISKS
How do identity-related concerns affect our
health behaviours? Prof. Etilé will examine how
social identity affects the impact of
globalization on food habits in emerging
countries such as China and Indonesia,
focusing on nutritional issues. He will also
analyze how the dynamics of personal identity
across time affect health-related choices. His
results may help policy makers to build health
education and prevention strategies.
AXA Award
3 years - €250 000
Identity and Health Behaviours
Citizenship: French
Paris School of Economics (France)
Prof.
FABRICE
ETILÉ
Positive emotions are a key antidote to stress.
However, almost nothing is known about the
precise types of feelings necessary to counter
the ill effects of adversity. Dr Pressman’s
research project examines how different kinds
of positive feelings protect the body from the
negative physiological effects of stress. These
findings will add specificity to the field and
inform future health-enhancing wellness
interventions.
AXA Award
3 years - €250 000
Exploring the Complex Interactions
between Positive Affect, Stress & Health
Citizenship: American
University of California – Irvine (USA)
Dr.
SARAH
PRESSMAN
Transforming risk prediction in diabetes is
Professor Colhoun’s objective. She will develop
algorithms based on electronic health records,
stimulating advances in predictive and
personalized medicine. Her findings will provide
the basis to develop digital tools for individual
and collective preventive strategies in diabetes
and other chronic diseases.
AXA Chair
15 years - €1 500 000
Medical informatics and Life Course
Epidemiology
Citizenship: British
University Edinburgh (Scotland)
Prof.
HELEN
COLHOUN

LIFE RISKS
Understanding how different regions are
interconnected in the brain is crucial to treat
and possibly prevent brain diseases. Studying
drosophila flies through cutting-edge
techniques, Prof. Ito will develop a
comprehensive catalogue of neural networks
and of their functions. His findings will help
address health and societal challenges such as
neurodegenerative diseases and addictions.
AXA Chair
15 years - €1 400 000
From Genome to Structure and Function
Citizenship: Japanese
University of Cologne (Germany)
(starting in fall)
Prof.
KEI
ITO
Chronic inflammatory disorders such as type 1
diabetes, allergies or multiple sclerosis,
represent a dramatically increasing health
burden. Professor Fillatreau's research will focus
on the B cells, recently identified as key player
in the pathogenesis of such diseases. Using
novel cellular and molecular approaches, he
will seek to identify the B cell subgroups driving
these diseases, in order to develop mitigation
strategies, and prevent irreversible disabilities.
AXA Chair
10 years - €1 000 000
Translational Immunology
Citizenship: French
University Paris Descartes
Institut Necker enfants malades (France)
Prof.
SIMON
FILLATREAU

LIFE RISKS
Today’s weapons in the battle against deadly
viruses all suffer from the same problem: viruses
continuously mutate and strains resistant to our
vaccines and drugs always emerge. Dr.
Lorenzo Albertazzi’s approach is fundamentally
different. He has turned to nanotechnology,
designing novel fibers that wrap around a virus,
physically blocking it from infecting a cell. His
work could introduce a whole new class of
tools to fight pandemics.
Dr.
LORENZO
ALBERTAZZI
Wrapping Up Pandemics in
New Nanomaterials
Institute for Bioengineering
of Catalonia (Spain)
When cells copy their DNA before dividing, a
faulty proofreading system can let errors slip
through. Ageing may be linked to the
accumulation of mistakes in a subset of our
genetic material, the mitochondrial DNA. Dr.
Francesca Baggio is testing whether increasing
the proofreading enzyme’s activity can extend
life span. Finding molecules that alter the
ageing process could provide new targets for
tackling age-related diseases and their heavy
burden on society.
Dr.
FRANCESCA
BAGGIO
Healthier Ageing through Better
DNA “Spellcheck”
Max Planck Institute for Biology
of Ageing (Germany)
In the fight against childhood obesity,
children’s play has been constructed as a way
to increase physical activity, mainly in high-
income countries. Dr. Stephanie Alexander
studies the emergence of the concept of
active play and its impact on children’s well-
being in different contexts. Focusing on Kenya
and South Africa, she will learn from these
African countries’ conceptions of play and
leisure, and explore how they integrate
children’s leisure within their public health and
physical activity programs.
Dr.
STEPHANIE
ALEXANDER
Children’s Play & Public Health: A
Kenyan Perspective on Fighting
Obesity with “Active Play”
Citizenship: Canadian
Fondation Maison des Sciences de
l'Homme (France)

LIFE RISKS
Mother’s Immune System, HIV and
Preterm Birth
Citizenship: Kenyan
University of Cape Town (South Africa)
HIV infection and antiretroviral therapy (ART)
increase pregnant women’s risk of delivering
preterm. These infants suffer considerably more
health problems in the first years of life. Dr.
Nadia Chanzu thinks that HIV/ART upsets the
delicate balance of an expectant mother’s
immune system and is studying the
mechanisms controlling this equilibrium in the
placenta. Her research could contribute to
finding new therapies that reduce the risk for
this very vulnerable group.
Dr.
NADIA
CHANZU
Bats can harbor diseases, like Ebola, capable
of making the jump to humans. Dr. Romain
Garnier studies their immune responses to help
predict future outbreaks. His work could reveal
periods when more virus is present or when bats
are less able to defend against the pathogens,
thus increasing the risk of spillover into humans.
If so, early response teams could prepare for
seasons of heightened risk.
Dr.
ROMAIN
GARNIER
When Outbreaks are in Season:
Predicting High-Risk Periods for
Transmission of Disease
Citizenship: French
University of Cambridge (UK)
Even normal aging puts us all at risk for
diabetes, one of the top ten causes of death
worldwide. Dr. Rafael Drigo thinks inflammation
of blood vessels underlies the failure of cells in
the pancreas that leads to diabetes. By
reducing the amount of one inflammatory
protein circulating in the blood, he may be
able to restore blood vessel health and quickly
provide new treatment options, reducing the
terrible burden of this disease.
Dr.
DRIGO
RAFAEL
ARROJO E
Fixing Inflamed “Pipes” Could Reduce
or Prevent Diabetes
Citizenship: Brazilian
Nanyang Technological University
(Singapore)

LIFE RISKS
For stroke, the single greatest cause of disability
worldwide, there exists just one treatment,
appropriate for only 5-8% of patients. Dr. Benoit
Roussel revealed that this drug acts, in part, by
reducing the cellular stress response that follows
a stroke and will ultimately lead to brain cell
death. He will now identify the different steps in
this cellular event, which could become targets
for important new stroke drugs.
Dr.
BENOIT
ROUSSEL
Protecting Brains from Stroke’s
Cellular Stress
Citizenship: French
Neurosciences, Cognitive Science,
Neurology and Psychiatry Institute (France)
If you find yourself counting sheep every night
to fall asleep, you may suffer from a sleeping
disorder, which affects our physical and mental
health. Tagliazzucchi will study the mechanisms
that prevent the brain to pass from wakefulness
to recuperative sleep, using both psychological
and neuroimaging techniques and collecting
data from a survey. His research’s results could
help design both pharmacological treatments
and recommendations on behaviors that
improve sleep quality.
Dr.
TAGLIAZUCCHI
ENZO
New hopes if counting sheep is not
working for you
Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience
(the Netherlands)
Some bacteria can collectively build a protective
structure that defends them from harsh conditions
and their host’s immune system. The recent
discovery of such “biofilms” in Leptospira provides a
possible explanation for this pathogen’s survival,
and potentially even reproduction, in the
environment. By extensively characterizing the
biofilm’s composition, formation and function, Dr.
Roman Thibeaux could identify new ways to fight its
transmission via contaminated water and to treat
leptospirosis.
Dr.
ROMAN
THIBEAUX
Bacterial Armor Provides Protection, but
Possible Treatments, Too
Citizenship: French
Institut Pasteur in New Caledonia
(France)

SOCIO ECONOMIC RISKS
What are the risks and consequences of
financial crises in countries outside the world of
liberal democracies?” that is the main question
Professor Chwieroth will investigate. As
advanced and emerging countries are
financially connected through globalization,
investments or even migratory flows, Prof.
Chwieroth’s findings may help policy makers
adjust to future transnational crises.
AXA Award
3 years - €250 000
Systemic Risk in Non-democratic
Societies: What Determines the Political
Consequences over the Long Run?
London School of Economics and
Political Science (UK)
Prof.
JEFFREY
CHWIEROTH
People affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa face
everyday risks related to treatment and care.
Dr Harman’s research aims to inform on those
risks through the film of a Tanzanian woman
treated for HIV in a poor rural environment; a
graphic novel; and a book.
Dr.
SOPHIE
HARMAN
AXA Outlook
2 years - €250 000
The everyday Risk of HIV/AIDS
Treatment and Care
Queen Mary University of London (UK)
How do socioeconomics factors influence
people’s vulnerability to severe weather
events? Combining statistical and geographic
analyses with engineering techniques,
Dr Donner studies the case of Lower South
Texas, a region prone to hurricanes and
flooding, to help policy makers mitigate risks for
vulnerable populations.
AXA Award
2 years - €250 000
An Environmental and Socioeconomic
Evaluation of Hydrological Risks in Lower
South Texas
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
(USA)
Dr.
WILLIAM
DONNER

Recent hacking attacks have demonstrated
weaknesses in our private information
exchanges. Professor Acin’s goal is to design a
new form of cryptography, in which information
safety is guaranteed by the laws of quantum
physics. Using correlated quantum particle, the
protocols will offer a level of security in which
existing hacking attacks would become
impossible.
AXA Chair
25 years - €1 700 000
Quantum Information Science
ICFO-The Institute of Photonic Sciences
(Spain)
Prof.
ANTONIO
ACÍN
Financial information can be perceived very
differently, especially among traders. Prof.
Dumas will study the risks created by these
different interpretations in financial markets,
together with the way traders are impacted by
the costs of the very economic exchange and
how they manage them. Understanding these
phenomena could be key to the design of
better financial markets.
AXA Chair
10 years - €800 000
Socio-economic Risks of Financial
Markets
Citizenship: French
Università degli Studi di Torino (Italy)
Prof.
BERNARD
DUMAS
AXA Joint Research Initiative
3 years - €195 000
Actuarial Dynamic Approach of
Customer in General Insurance
Citizenship: Belgian
Université Catholique de Louvain
(France)
While actuaries carry their models’ calculations
for insurance products considering each
product in isolation, the consumers tend to
view all the products bought in a global way.
Dr. Denuit’s research project conducted with
AXA Belgium aims at reconciling the two points
of view, allowing insurers to offer the most
appropriate damage insurance covers
together with optimal premiums.
Dr.
MICHEL
DENUIT

AXA Chair
15 years - €1 500 000
Information Security and Privacy
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale
de Lausanne (Switzerland)
As the use of Data grows exponentially,
protecting users’ data and privacy is an
important and urgent challenge to achieve.
Through a holistic approach where availability,
integrity and privacy of data are inseparable
security properties, Prof. Ford’s research aims at
developing a framework for privacy-preserving
“big data”. He will also explore cloud
computing emerging risks, aiming for better
data protection in a world where cloud
computing may become the dominant
paradigm.
Prof.
BRYAN
FORD

Combining Risk Assessments for
Optimal Group Decisions
Citizenship: French
Tilburg University (Netherlands)
When a group of people must make a decision
involving risk, how should they pool their
individual views? Different methods can
produce different results, which matters when
determining the safety of a new drug, for
example. Dr. Thomas Boyer-Kassem is
developing models to identify the best method
of combining risk assessments for a range of
aggregation scenarios. His results should interest
expert committees, political bodies—any group
of individuals making collective decisions
about risks.
Dr.
THOMAS
BOYER-
KASSEM
Migration and Human Rights in the
Wake of Climate Change
Citizenship: Romanian
United Nations University (Japan)
Human rights violations can follow extreme
climate events, disrupting access to clean
water, housing or other basic rights. Dr. Cosmin
Corendea examines this relationship and its
connection to migration decisions. To develop
legal approaches focused on the vulnerable
people affected by climate change, his field
research in the Pacific Islands will elicit
recommendations from within the society. He
aims to make the resulting migration solutions
sustainable by creating the legal framework to
support them.
Dr.
COSMIN
CORENDEA
For More Robust Decisions,
Let Ambiguity In
Citizenship: German
University of Bonn (Germany)
Embracing ambiguity could lead to more
robust decision-making. Dr. Philipp Eisenhauer’s
novel microeconomic models incorporate not
only risks and their known probabilities, but
uncertainty and the unknowable likelihood of
random events. The enriched descriptions of
human decision-making that result, as from his
work on the drivers of education decisions,
could lead to better policy design and
optimized decisions made with the best
information we have.
Dr.
PHILIPP
EISENHAUER

The growing number of older adults in Sub-
Saharan Africa is a source of risk for countries’
development: policy confronts traditional
African values on the provision of long-term
social care (LTSC). Dr. Emily Freeman studies
the evolving behavioral, social and economic
risks tied to LTSC. Through policy analysis and
stakeholder interviews she will bring a more
nuanced and informed assessment of long-
term care solutions for populations across
Africa.
Dr.
EMILY
FREEMAN
Caring for An Ageing Population:
Challenges and Opportunities
in Sub-Saharan Africa
London School of Economics and
Political Science (UK)
Modern gold objects differ in composition from
the gold worked by the Ancients, a fact Dr.
Verena Leusch uses for the authentication of
artifacts. Her chemical analyses of the first
broad panel of objects from times and places
across the Ancient world will address whether
high purity gold can be used as a marker of
forgery. Her work provides a crucial service for
museums, insurers and society’s understanding
of the past.
Dr.
VERENA
LEUSCH
Genuine Artifacts, or Forgeries Good
as Gold?
Citizenship: German
Reiss Engelhorn Museum (Germany)
Marketing’s subtle methods can increase
people’s engagement in risky behaviors like
smoking or overeating. Dr. Anouk Festjens is the
first to explore the mechanisms involved.
Tempting marketing cues may act by
influencing our perception of both the
probability and the attractiveness of given
outcomes. If she finds this is the case, her results
could lead to more effective risk prevention
campaigns that take this into account.
Dr.
ANOUK
FESTJENS
How Marketing Affects Risky Decisions
and How Risk Prevention Can Respond
Citizenship: Belgian
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium)

Protecting the Power Supply with Better
Risk Management
Citizenship: Polish
National Centre for Nuclear Research
(Poland)
When power grids fail, essential infrastructure is
threatened. Dr. Karol Wawrzyniak aims to
optimize the urgent actions taken to return
power production and supply to a normal
state. He is developing innovative tools
allowing continuous, comprehensive risk
assessment for potential states of the grid,
taking into account regional characteristics,
the correction’s cost and the necessary
timeframe in which to accomplish it. The goal:
greater stability for our energy systems.
Dr.
KAROL
WAWRZYNIAK

SCIENTIFIC BOARD

SCIENTIFIC BOARD
Thomas Kirkwood is Professor of Medicine and Dean for Ageing at Newcastle
University. Educated in biology and mathematics at Cambridge and Oxford, he
worked at the National Institute for Medical Research, where he formed and led a
new research division, until in 1993 he became Professor of Biological Gerontology at
the University of Manchester. His research is focused on the basic science of ageing
and on understanding how genes as well as non-genetic factors, such as nutrition,
influence longevity and health in old age. Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences
and Senior Investigator of the UK National Institute for Health Research, Prof Kirkwood
has been Chairman of the AXA Research Fund Scientific Board since January 1st 2013.
Prof. THOMAS KIRKWOOD
President of the Scientific Board

SCIENTIFIC BOARD
Academics
Professor of Development
Economics and Environment at
the University of Manchester (UK)
Prof. BINA AGARWAL
President of Sabanci University,
Istanbul (Turkey) Emeritus Professor
of Physics, MIT (USA)
Prof. NIHAT BERKER
Director and Head of the
Telomeres Group, National
Cancer Research Centre,
CNIO (Spain)
Prof. MARIA A BLASCO

SCIENTIFIC BOARD
Academics
Professor or Economics, Columbia
University (USA). Research Associate
at the National Bureau of Economic
Research in Cambridge, MA (USA)
Prof. ALESSANDRA CASELLA
Director of the Edmond J. Safra
Center for Ethics at Harvard
University (USA) Roy L. Furman
Professor of Law at Harvard Law
School (USA)
Prof. LAWRENCE LESSIG
Research Director at the
Laboratoire de météorologie
dynamique (CNRS/
UPMC/Ecole Polytechnique)
(France)
Prof. OLIVIER BOUCHER

SCIENTIFIC BOARD
Academics
Professor, History of Science and
Science in Society,
Ecole des Hautes Etudes en
Sciences Sociales, EHESS (France)
Prof. DOMINIQUE PESTRE
Head of Environmental Planning
and Climate Protection
Department of eThekwini
Municipality, Durban, (South Africa)
Dr. DEBRA ROBERTS
Winton Professor for the Public
Understanding of Risk in the
Statistical Laboratory,
University of Cambridge (UK)
Prof. DAVID SPIEGELHALTER

SCIENTIFIC BOARD
Chief Economist AXA Group,
Head of Research at AXA
Investment Managers
ERIC CHANEY
Chief Risk Officer, AXA Group
ALBAN DE MAILLY NESLE
AXA Representatives
Founder and CEO of Kamet
STÉPHANE GUINET

SCIENTIFIC BOARD
Head of Strategy, Sustainability and
Public Affairs, and a Member of the
Executive Committee, AXA Group
CHRISTIAN THIMANN
AXA Representatives
Chief Operating Officer, Member of
the Management Committee,
AXA Group
VERONIQUE WEILL
Head of Operational Excellence
and procurement, AXA Group
RÉGINALD HENRY

The AXA Research Fund
supports 44 new academic research programs
to advance understanding of risks
AT A GLANCE

As a global insurance leader, it is part of
AXA’s corporate responsibility to help
build and share knowledge on risks, in
order to better protect people and the
planet.
To do so AXA launched in 2007 the AXA
Research Fund, a unique global scientific
philanthropy initiative.
THE AXA RESEARCH FUND AT A GLANCE
Researching
today to
better protect
tomorrow
Attract, select and support leading research projects on
major risks facing our societies:
Environmental risks
(Climate change,
natural hazards,
urbanization & resilience,
energy transition ...)
Socio-economic risks
(macro-economics and
financial risks, data
privacy & cybersecurity,
risky behaviors …)
Life risks
(Longevity, pandemics,
medical innovation,
healthcare systems …)
• By promoting the AXA fellows’ public engagement toward a broad
audience and in the media, through a lively community management
• By fostering scientific exchanges and knowledge sharing in society,
to enlighten decision making on risk related issues.
Encouragesupportedresearchersto feed the publicdebate,to help
bettermanageor preventrisks
THE TWO-FOLD MISSION OF
THE AXA RESEARCH FUND

The AXA Research Fund supports
academic innovation by top-tier
researchers all over the world. It provides
researchers with the means and freedom
to complete their work successfully, so
that they feel encouraged to explore
new avenues.
The awarding of grants is based on strict
academic criteria following a transparent
and rigorous selection process, which is
overseen by our Scientific Board, mainly
composed of well-known senior
academics, and presided by Prof. Tom
Kirkwood (Newcastle University, UK).
THE AXA RESEARCH FUND AT A GLANCE
Supports academic innovation
Promote discussions between the academic world and society
FIVE FUNDING SCHEMES
Chairs
up to € 3M Awards
up to € 250K
Postdoctoral
Fellowships
up to € 130K
Ad hoc fundings
for public
outreach by our
research fellows
up to € 125K
Joint
Research
Initiatives
up to € 225K
Supporting research dissemination goes beyond funding: AXA also uses its corporate networks and
communications resources to help selected scientists go one step further in sharing their knowledge
with a broader audience, thereby empowering them to actively nurture public debate on risks facing
our societies.

Created in
2007
492applications
received
A dynamic
research community
2000+ active referees,
working in 38 countries
Granted researchers strongly
engaged in workshops and
academic conferences,
public outreach events,
media & social media
€149million committed
In 269
academic institution
in 33 countries
by researchers of
51 nationalities
AXA RESEARCH FUND FACTS AND FIGURES*
€200million to be
committed
by 2018
*asofDec31,2015
4185academic
research
supported
35%
Socio-
economic Risks
27%
Environmental
Risks
38%
Life Risks

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